Rockies Are Sellers, But Only Sort Of
The Rockies are in fourth place in the National League West. They are 18 games under .500. They have no
chance at the division this year, and will be looking at a multi-year rebuilding process. They are the epitome of sellers, yet they’re not willing to trade everyone.
According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports yesterday, the Rockies are not trading Carlos Gonzalez or Michael Cuddyer. The Rockies GM, Dan O’Dowd, made it clear that the idea of parting with Carlos Gonzalez was ridiculous. He also made it clear the team had no intentions of moving Cuddyer either.
"“The Carlos Gonzalez thing is a joke,” O’Dowd said. “We’re not trading Carlos Gonzalez.”"
Got it. Not trading CarGo.
"“I’ve had a ton of calls on Michael Cuddyer,” O’Dowd said. “But I’m not trading him, either.”"
Ok, not trading Cuddyer either.
To be fair, the Rockies seem to have a solid plan in place. They have gone toward youth in building their lineup, and they’ve restocked their farm system. This is not a team that will compete next season unless there are significant changes to the roster, but it’s a team with a direction. That direction, it seems, includes both Carlos Gonzales and Michael Cuddyer.
Gonzalez has been phenomenal since coming over from Oakland. He is hitting .333/.389/.605 this season. In his 4 years in Colorado so far, Gonzalez has hit .314/.370/.565. He’s just 26-years old and looks to be a future All-Star for years to come.
Michael Cuddyer, as Heyman points out, is a veteran leader. The Rockies – and every team for that matter – need a player like that in the clubhouse. And he’s not a bad player either. In fact, Cuddyer was an All-Star last year with the Minnesota Twins. This year, he’s hitting .256/.310/.477. In his career, he’s been a .271/.341/.453 hitter.
The Rockies will be sellers at the deadline, but they are sellers with a plan. Earlier in the season and during the offseason, it seems the Rockies were simply shedding payroll. Now, it’s clear the team intends to compete, but they wanted to restock their farm system and compete with young players with which they can control for years to come.
For more on the Rockies, be sure to check out Rox Pile.